Thankful For Our 5th Season

Thanksgiving falls shortly after we close our tent flaps for the season, a time when we’re especially thankful for our glampers who visit season after season, for our team who works tirelessly to ensure our glampers have an unforgettable outdoor experience, and of course for the great outdoors.

Closing camp, which is filled with joy, warmth and laughter through our season, is always bittersweet. And yet, we’re grateful to be in rhythm with earth’s cycles and our excitement to pitch camp again next year keeps us warm all winter.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, our co-founders are sharing what they’re thankful for this season…

Photo: Christina Holmes

Emma Frisch| Co-Founder

For me, the word "family" captures my gratitude this year. I am beyond thankful for the Firelight Family we have, and their dedication to creating a magical experience for our guests. It is because of our staff that the greater Firelight Family - our guests - continue to return every year. This year I met at least one couple (or group of friends) every month, who said they had returned for a third season or more! It continues to astound me that, together, we've created something so special it deserves a permanent place in someone's annual calendar.

On a more personal level, we welcomed our second baby this year - Cora - and she has already spent her fair share of time around the campfire. As our first daughter Ayla has shown us, we are so fortunate to have a thriving business which also happens to be a nurturing environment in which to raise our children. Ayla was born into the Firelight experience, where she's been adopted by her "big" friends (our doting Camp Hosts and staff's older children), gets to mingle with people from all over the world, plays outside - exhaustively - in the fresh air, and also gets to see her parents working with their community to create something about which they are passionate. We feel so lucky that Cora will share this upbringing, and that our staff can also extend this experience to their families.

Photo: Allison Usavage

Bobby Frisch | Co-Founder

I have so much to be thankful for this year! A healthy growing family with TWO little red-headed girls now, a healthy growing business, and my personal health - what else could one ask for? It has been so fulfilling to continue to meet and chat with our guests who return year after year to Firelight. I am so thankful to our staff who work hard every season to make sure Firelight remains a magical experience, and I am thankful that many of them choose to return to work for us each year.

I am thankful that sustainability-oriented tourism is growing in upstate NY and across the country, and that people continue to seek-out authentic, rejuvenating getaway experiences. Most of all (of course ...) I am thankful for my bad*ss wife who somehow manages to publish cookbooks, be an incredible mother to our kids, help steer Firelight, and cook incredibly yummy food!

We hope you’ll find a moment this week, perhaps on a brisk nature-walk after enjoying a delicious Thanksgiving feast, to pause and reflect on what you’re most thankful for this season. Wishing you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving!